Friends by Choice
by veronica.toon.7
Summary: Idea by Carmen578; A what-if story where Ronno apologizes to Bambi when he was leaving with Mena and then helps him get away from the dogs.
1. The Start

**This idea came from Carmen578, so all rights and credit goes to them. Thanks for letting me have this idea!** **This is a what-if story where** **Ronno apologizes to Bambi when he was leaving with Mena and then helps him get away from the dogs.**

 **Bambi 1 &2 belongs to Disney. I own nothing. I don't own the cover image either. All rights go to their original owners.**

 **Enjoy the story!**

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In the forest, the sunlight filtered through the branches and leaves of the trees, creating speckled patterns of both light an shadow that ever shifted in the mid-summer breeze. Aside from the sound of insects buzzing and birds chirping in the distance, this part of the wood was quite silent. Walking slowly through the trees, though, a reddish-brown, male fawn could easily be seen. His antlers were just stubs on top of his head and eyes were an emerald green, though sadness and remorse was swirling in their depths.

Ronno wasn't the most beloved fawn around. His brash, almost cruel attitude had given him the reputation of a bully. Still, he tried, he really did. He tried to make friends, but his competitive spirit and urge to be impress often pushed others away from him. He wasn't that much of a social fawn, but he hadn't really had any experience or learning how to help him. His mother did try to help him, but often times she wouldn't just be the cause of his withdrawn from the other's activities.

It wasn't entirely her fault either. His father could be considered the start of the problem. His father hadn't treated him well, not when he had been born or now. His mother was his only, true parent. She took care of him, even though she held him too close from time to time. His father had wanted a strong, male heir, so that meant early on Ronno had begun training. Running, leaping, charging, fighting. All that training and exercising hadn't given him much time to play with fawns his age. He couldn't refuse his father though. Every little imperfection, every little mistake, would result in hit, either or both physically or verbally, from his father.

Over the years, his fear towards his father had turned to anger and resentment. Now every time he got a less than a 100% in his training, he would bare his father's abuse silently. For every hit he took, he would keep from screaming or crying from the pain. He refused to give him satisfaction for the pain he caused. And so, over time, all the emotion he held in his heart had become locked in. Now he couldn't be in touch with his emotions when they were necessary, thus he demeanor often came off as satirical, sarcastic and rude.

Then there was Bambi. The Great Prince of the Forest's own son. He was younger then him, about a few month's difference, and he didn't have his antlers yet either. It amazed him how different he was to him. Instead of training, the young prince could just play all day. Play all day with his friends, way more than even Ronno could hope to have. He didn't have a mother though, guess that was one advantage he had over him, but the young prince's father actually spent time with him. Not like his father though, he gave lessons without any verbal or physical abuse if he made any little mistakes. The Great Prince was actually like a father to his son.

It made Ronno mad with jealousy. He was older, he was better trained, he even had antlers. So why couldn't he have what he had?

So here he was now, walking in the forest in the little free time he had, sulking about his miserable life while thinking of the must-be glorious life Bambi had. His front hoof kicked a stone in the grass. The late afternoon sun brought forth long shadows of the trees and shrubs, providing an excellent place to hide his sorrow as he walked along the shaded path.

His ears pricked up the tweeting of a songbird up above. His eyes went up to some branches up above where he glared at the tan bird with the orange head and the little, subtle hints of bluish-white between the two colors. Its cheery, peeping chirps were annoying him more with every second passing.

"Hey. Can you keep quiet for more than three seconds? I can't even hear myself think," he yelled. The bird stopped chirping immediately and, to Ronno's surprise, glared at him with their beady, black eyes.

"Well, excuse me for spreading the news. Just because I'm not some almighty, quiet deer, doesn't mean I don't have a right to speak when I want to," she replied, clearly indignant.

"News? What news," he asked. He was interested by this, but kept his tone dry and disinterested. The songbird then dove down and spread out her wings so she was flying right before and slightly above his head.

"Wouldn't you like to know? The Great Prince put his son in the care of a new doe to replace his mother. The young prince is moving to a new part of the forest to his new home," she replied, still glaring at him. Ronno was now fully intrigued on the subject.

"Do you know why the Great Prince is doing this," he asked, his voice betraying just the hints of his interest.

"From what I've heard is that the Great Prince wanted a doe to raise him in the areas he can't. It's rather cute if you think about it, the Great Prince is sacrificing his time with the young prince to give him a chance at being raised properly with a new mother" she replied, her tone losing the annoyance and moving to a softer, gentler tone. But as soon as she realized what she was doing, she went back to her tone before.

"Well, that's is all. I hope you have a nice day," she said, trying to make it sound sarcastic. She then flew off, leaving him alone once more. His mind race as he took in this new information.

The young prince was leaving this part of the forest, because his father wanting what was best for him. Instead of a normal surge of jealousy coming through him, he felt a wave of sadness coming through. For once in his life, he felt sad for someone other than himself. The young prince was leaving with a new mother, but he was leaving behind all of his friends, as well as his father.

It must be hard for him. For once Ronno felt sympathy towards Bambi, instead of his normal sarcastic and brutish feelings. At least he could do was see him go off or maybe even ask if he would be okay.

With this strange new emotions guiding him, he started walking towards his goal. He would go and check on the young prince.

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It wasn't too long till he found him. The young prince was lagging behind a doe through the forest, possibly his new designated mother. He took in the young prince's expression. His head was dipped and his face was sullen. In that moment, Ronno's feeling of sympathy increased another tenfold. Before he had even realized it, his hooves moved on their own and he walked out of the brush towards him.

"Hello Bambi," he said before he even realized his lips had formed the words. Bambi's pace never faltered and he appeared to ignore him. Ronno began to feel anger for him from his lack of an acknowledgment, but then he remembered the songbird's words.

"I heard that you're leaving.. and," he stuttered. What he said next shocked the both of them. "And I wanted to see you off." Bambi's ears twitched and he stopped. He was as still as the trees around them. Ronno began to feel uncomfortable with the sudden eerie silence surrounding them. In an effort to relieve himself of it, he quickly bounded before the frozen fawn, still bowing his head.

"Yeah. So... listen. I know you're going off soon and I'll probably won't see you again anytime too, so...," his eyes shut tightly and he grit his teeth before, "I just wanted to say I'm sorry for how I treated you and your friends," he blurted out in one breath.

"Oh yeah," Bambi responded as his head snapped up and he glared at him. His sudden reaction caused Ronno to flinch back. "I don't have time for your games, Ronno. I can't imagine why you'd ever be sorry, considering y _ou're_ better than me. You're always trying to prove yourself more than me. You're the one that doesn't have to leave everything behind just because your father told you to." Ronno kept shrinking back with every sarcastic remark the young prince made, until he looked younger and smaller than him. Never before had he ever seen him like this, so domineering and stoic. Just like his father. Just like _his_ father. Instantly, Ronno felt afraid and he shrank back even more.

"I-I," he stuttered. He could not even bring himself to look at the younger fawn. His heart was racing, his bluster was completely gone. He only had one last thing to get off his chest. "I-I-I'm... I'm jealous of you!" His forehooves instinctively came up to shield his face, half expecting to block any blows he might have thrown at him, just like his father would when he had done something wrong. A moment passed, his limbs began to tire from holding them up, though he forced them to stay above his head to keep the blows from hurting him. But to his surprise they didn't. Instead he heard Bambi's voice.

"What?"

Slowly, he lowered his forelegs and forced himself to a sitting position. He swayed for a moment with the blood rushing back to his head, before staring back at the confused fawn in front of him.

"I-I'm jealous of you," Ronno said as his bottom lip trembled. His legs shook as he slowly got back onto them. "I mean look at you. You have lots of friends, way more than me, you have a father that 'actually' takes care of you. You have a way more better life than I ever could have and its... its...," his eyes focused to glare at him, "You just make me sick!"

All was silent between the two fawn except for Ronno's ragged, heavy breathing. Bambi took a good look at the older buck. His form was shivering, his eyes were cast down and sorrowful and his bottom lip trembled. It was hard to believe that this sad-looking fawn now looked so... so... broken. Bambi's mind raced as he processed all he had heard from his former bully, now a trembling buck before him.

"Um... are you alright, Ronno," he finally asked after a second.

"Do I look alright to you," he replied. His head was still cast down towards the forest floor. Bambi swallowed as he tried come up with a response.

"Well um... I'm sorry I didn't know how you felt towards me," he confessed slowly and softly. Ronno's head gradually went up and Bambi could see that his expression was as soft as his voice.

"Yeah, well I didn't do a good job of telling you or anyone else. My dad says telling or showing your emotions to someone else is a sign that they're weak", he admitted.

"Well, my dad sending me away because he doesn't want to raise me anymore." Both young bucks were sorrowful and silent for another moment, until one of them spoke up.

"You wanna be friends", Bambi asked, turning up and smiling at the older fawn. Ronno's expression changed at startling speeds from sadness to shock, but gradually the sides of his mouth started to quirk up, not in his usual smirk, but in a tiny, yet genuine, smile.

"You wanna wrestle," he responded, but it was the playful tone that made all the difference. Ronno's tiny smile turned into a grin as he saw the young prince hunch down and paw the ground in a mock challenging movement. Ronno quickly hopped up to his feet and assumed the same position. Both grinned and then charged at one another. They head butted each other, trying to see which one could knock down the other down. Both lifted onto their back legs and tried to hit one another with their front ones.

Bambi quickly darted to the side to avoid an offense, laughing as he did. He and Ronno charged and butted heads, pushing against each other as they tried to gain the advantage over the other. Ronno laughed as they fought, this was the first fight he had ever done out of playfulness. Luckily for his opponent though, he suddenly pulled back before charging forward and plowing him down and to the side.

"Ha ha," Bambi proudly said as Ronno, safely, skidded to the ground.

"Bambi," came a sudden, concern voice from the side. The doe the young prince was following earlier had apparently stopped and noticed them fighting and had mistaken it for fighting rather than playing, so she had come over to separate them. "Are you alright" she asked, her voice laced with worry. She moved around him slowly as she searched for any injuries he might have.

Bambi started to explain that he was fine and they were just playing, but then Ronno took hold of his momentary distraction to try and gain the advantage, so he charged forward. He knocked Bambi in his side, which made him smack into the doe and caused her to move back some. Ronno took a second to feel the glory of the small gain, but it quickly died as a loud, eerie and frightening sound reached his ears.

The doe's back leg had moved into a small loop and when she moved it forward, the noose tightened around her leg, ensnaring her. The string connecting to the noose was suddenly pulled forward, also taking out a notch in a piece of wood which then connected to another piece of string tied to a tree bent down with several strange objects tied to the branches. As she struggled to get her leg free, the pulling caused the tree to move as well and the objects to clang against each other and cause a loud, echoing sound to come forth. One of Man's trap.

Both fawns stopped their brawling and stared at the trap that had her in fear. Her struggles to pull herself out of it were futile in the cleverly made, hidden trap. All of a sudden another frightening sound hit both their ears. Man's hounds. They had head the clanging objects and knew that something had gotten caught in it. Both heads turned down a scary-looking path to where it appeared to coming from. Ronno's eyes turned over to Bambi's and he noticed they were widened in fear.

"Both of you get out of hear. Now," the doe behind them ordered. On instinct, Ronno began running in the opposite direction.

"Mommy," he screamed as he retreated fearfully. His legs moved as fast as he could as he charged up the hill, eager to try and get as far as he could away from the dogs.

"Bambi. Run," he heard the doe call out from behind him. His legs forcibly came to a halt and his head twisted over his shoulder to look at him. Bambi was still standing where was, frozen in his place. Crows cawed overhead, the doe still struggled to get free, the dog's barks became louder and louder as they grew closer and closer yet Bambi was still paralyzed in his spot.

"Run, Bambi," Ronno heard the doe call out louder to him. The dogs were in view, coming up ferociously and vicious towards the frozen fawn and trapped doe. It was just seconds until the dogs would reach them.

Suddenly, Bambi was thrown to the side by an incoming blur. His head and expression snapped up the the older buck frantically pacing in place before him. Ronno.

"Move you stupid prince! Run," he yelled. In an instant Bambi's legs were moving again and he darted away alongside Ronno.

"Faster you two. Don't look back! Keep running! Keep running," the doe cried after them. All of a sudden, Bambi's form froze again. Ronno's head turned back towards the young prince.

"Did you not hear what she just said? Run," he yelled, not stopping his sprint. But Bambi didn't move. His head turned back to the doe pulling to get free. Ronno stopped again, still waiting for the young prince to follow after him. To his utter shock and dismay, he saw Bambi charge forward in the opposite direction, towards the dogs.

"Bambi," he heard the doe yell as she saw him pass. Ronno took several paces after him, but he couldn't see him from afar. At this point he wanted to see Bambi, coming back with him to safety. In just a few seconds, though, he wish he didn't see him. His eyes followed in horror as he saw Bambi running down a lower path with the pack of dogs coming after him. It was only then did he realize what Bambi was trying to do.

He was sacrificing himself for the other doe's life. He was sacrificing his own life for another deer who he had known only today. Ronno could only stare blankly as he saw Bambi risk his life for another's. He felt his heart beat in admiration and guilt for the young prince whom he had previously teased and tried to hurt.

Before he knew it, he realized his legs were going in the same direction as Bambi was, just above him and the pack of dogs. His mind started to protest against whatever he was doing, but then he realized why. This was his chance to redeem himself.

Luckily, the paths they were both taking intersected not too far away.

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 **First part done. Now on to the next. Hope you enjoyed reading this, reviews are loved and cherished. Hope I'll see you guys again. Sincerely, v.t.7**


	2. Against the Fear

**Chapter 2. Now comes the dog chasing scene. What will Ronno do as he joins Bambi is this climax part of the movie? Well you'll just have to read to find out! We're starting off with Bambi's PoV, just to let you guys know.**

 **Enjoy the chapter!**

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Dogs were savage, frightful beasts. Both his parents had discussed fearfully of them. If they had to choose between wolves and dogs, wolves would be less of a problem. For while wolves traveled in packs and took down deer quickly and efficiently, dogs were the stuff of nightmares, for when they came, man followed. And whenever man came, nothing good ever happened.

To his surprise, as he charged past the great trees, Ronno slid in right next him as the ran away from the dogs.

"What? Ronno? What are you doing here," he said between breaths.

"If you think I'm gonna let myself lose the only friend I've ever had, then you're more pathetic prince than I thought," he panted back. Bambi would've responded back, but every breath used to form sentences probably would've meant less breaths to keep up his energy from running away from the dogs.

Both fawns darted towards the side where the branches and made a sort of barrier. They squeezed through and slid slightly down a small, wet hill. To their horror, the dogs didn't even lose speed as they simply ran through and broke the branches. Both bucks slid down the slope and continued off into the stream below. They moved swiftly through obstacles, in-between trees and shrubs, over and under fallen logs and onto dry land again, thankful that they had gained some distance between them and the fierce pack animals. When they looked back, they saw that there were only three instead of four, but they still were coming towards them.

They finally reached the log bridge that Ronno had chased Bambi a while before. Both fawns darted for it, but Bambi suddenly stopped before it. Ronno stopped after he had crossed and only stopped when he Bambi had had too.

"Hey, what are you doing? We need to keep moving," Ronno asked from the other side of the bridge. Bambi said nothing but quickly tapped his front hooves at the start of the bridge. To Ronno surprise, a porcupine appeared under a hidden board in the log and crawled out.

"Haha! Lookie who's here. Guess somebody didn't learn their lesson," said the porcupine as he hunkered down and pricked up his very pointy quills. In that second, Ronno understood why Bambi screamed that day before he chased him.

"I learned plenty," he replied and thrusted his front hooves down. The excess force down on the piece of loose log sent the other end up and sent the porcupine screaming as he was flung into the air as Bambi ran across. As they continued running, Ronno noticed that the porcupine had fallen, quills first, onto a dog, leaving only three more remaining in the chase.

"Nice one," he commented. Bambi nodded, his facial expression determinated.

The two soon reached the field, and that is where the two halted. Both knew that the clearer the space you were in, the more likely you would be seen. If the dogs were here, then man would probably be here two. Still, the dogs were coming up behind both of the fawns and they didn't have much of a choice. The two darted into the tall grass and lowered down, hoping that the dogs wouldn't see them. A light rain was starting to come down and both prayed that the moisture would mask their scents.

The could here the beasts growing and see their shadows move around them. They only hoped that the creatures would lose track of them. They tried to keep their breathing silent, despite the need to take deeper breaths to replenish the air lost from the running. Both huddled close together and lowered down further, close to the grass around them. Eyes darted around, searching fearfully for the predators.

Bambi looked down at his hooves. Ronno stared part quizzically, part fearfully at him. Under some feeling though, or perhaps it was peer pressure, he looked down at his hooves too, still standing firmly on the ground below them. All of a sudden, he could hear booming. Silent booms, vibrations caused by something approaching. It grew louder and louder in his mind. The two shut their eyes as their muscles tensed and they waited for the time to come.

They bolted. The sound a dog whimpering as the other fell upon it was behind them. They charged for the forest, free of the clear and back into the shadows. Trees and shrubs they darted past and through, until they stared in horror as a large, rocky slope was before them. The rain was coming harder now, but there was no time for thinking twice. Both fawns began climbing up it.

The water was trickling down in small streams down the slope and was making the stones and logs slippery to climb up and both feared of falling to their doom. Below them, the two remaining dogs were barking as they still went in pursuit of them. The two jumped faster up the side of the cliff, jumping from ledge to ledge to try and get away from the vicious canines. But the dogs were agilic enough to follow them too. One behind the other nearly fell down along with the loose rock, but he managed to jump free just in time before he was carried away by the forces of gravity.

In the time while they were climbing, the fawns had chosen different parts of the cliff to climb, thus separating in distance from each other. However, two different ways still meant the dogs could split off as well, and pursue one fawn each. And that is exactly what each one did. The dog in the lead took after Bambi, although he was higher up than Ronno, while the one behind him took the closer deer.

Ronno and Bambi were well aware of this, but both could not do anything to help the other at the moment. The dog pursuing Ronno was gaining closer distance than the one going for Bambi and soon enough he was just a foot away from him. Ronno nearly froze up in fear as the dog took a bite at his legs and missed.

Suddenly, triggered by some surge of instinct through him, as he perched on the ledge, Ronno reared up on his hind legs and threw his front legs at the dog as it appeared over the edge of the ridge. Recalling one of his father's words, he aimed for the face, reminded that their was no way one could shield or protect one's eyes while having a task at hand. The dog howled in agony as the young buck's hooves jabbed into his face. To the dog's agony and to Ronno's joy, the dog lost his grip on the slippery stone and fell off it, down towards the ground.

He let out a joyous yell of victory, though it died quickly afterwards once the barks of the other dog broke him out of his proud statue. He looked above him and saw that Bambi was nearing the point of nowhere else to go and his hound was moving in closer.

When Bambi looked up, he noticed that the water draining down the mountain had swept down an entire pile of rocks to a ledge just above him. As the lighting flashed and the thunder rumbled, he moved up to it as he saw a way to put it to his advantage. The dog was nearing him quickly, so he had to work quickly. As soon as he got close enough, his hoof jabbed repeatedly at the bottom of the stack, in an attempt to knock it even further down. After exceeding over five times and still going, it seemed like it was a futile attempt, but finally the rocks broke down and unfortunately sent him sliding down with it, along with the water that had accumulated behind it. He could hear the dog's howls of surprise and when he looked down he could no longer see him.

But then he could hear its barks as it still managed to keep onto the rocky slopes. The sounds of claws scratching up as he pulled himself us sent shivers down Bambi's spine, not just from the storm and rain. He could faintly hear someone yelling out his name in the distance, but his focus was only on the dog now who had now grasped onto the ledge. The nightmarish animal growled at Bambi but then let out a howl in pain.

Bambi's eyes could faintly make out the stubs of someone's head as they bit down on the dog's back leg. He then realized it was Ronno who was providing the backup. Bambi's happiness and new admiration for his friend soon disappeared when Ronno's biting grip on the dog suddenly gave way and the dog pulled himself up more onto the ledge. Ronno's yelp of shock and pain below was soon overwhelmed by the dog snarling fiercely and deadly towards Bambi. Lightning streaked and thunder boomed behind the creature, showing better his red eyes and sharp teeth, giving the animal an almost demonic appearance.

In a brief moment, Bambi almost lost all hope for his survival as he was consumed by the fear of the situation. Here he was, trapped on the ledge with a deadly creature ready at any instant to attack him. It seemed entirely hopeless for him. But then determination surged through him.

Without a doubt in his head, Bambi wheeled around and thrusted his back legs towards the animal. The dog fell of the cliff with a horrified shriek. And just like that, it was over. Rain still poured down, thunder rumbled in the distance, but there was no fear left. At that moment, Bambi realized he was being watched from above. His head turned and a smile broke out on his face when he saw his father was above him.

With no hesitation, he began climbing and bounding up to his father. He had managed to make it to a ledge just a foot or so away from him and looked at his father's face. His smile grew wider when he saw the proud look that was there.

But all of a sudden then, he felt his legs leave the rock's hard surface as it crumbled under him. Before he blacked out below, he was lastly aware of his father calling out his name and the warmish, almost cushiony feeling he collapsed upon before he lost consciousness.

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 **And I was going to continue here, but I thought I make this into a four part story. Hope you enjoyed this part though. And just what was that Bambi fell upon when the rock collapsed. Until next time you will know. Till then, please review and I'll see you again next time. Sincerely, v.t.7**


	3. In Hope we Trust

**Chapter 3. Now you will find out what happened to Bambi and Ronno.**

 **Enjoy the story!**

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The Great Prince moved as fast as he was able down the slope. His son was down there. His shock and fear for his son rivaled his once proudness he felt only a minute ago when he had witnessed his son take down a dog and escape from the dog that had pursued and threatened him. Now to his horror Bambi had fallen down from the cliff when the ledge below his hooves had crumbled away. His child was down there now, possibly injured in some way or another from the fall. His fear was only greatened by his fatherly instincts. He had to come down and see if Bambi was alright.

As he reached the lower end of the slope, he stopped as he took in the sight before him. There his son lay down, unmoving, surrounded by some grass that had managed to grow despite the poor soil they were rooted in. Another fawn, one older with his antler stubs, was laying protectively beside him. He seemed to be hyperventilating as he scared at the young prince with worried eyes.

He flinched when he suddenly senses him approaching and turned frighteningly up at him as he came closer. As the Great Prince grew closer, he stood up and defensively over Bambi's still body. Once the the Great Prince stopped just a few feet before and made no other motions to get past, he lifted his head up though was still wary of the newcomer.

He obediently moved quietly and slowly to the side to let him pass. The Great Prince took sight of his son. No injuries marred his fawn, no scratches or bruises whatsoever. He was just so still and that was what frightened him.

"Bambi," he quietly asked. No response from the fawn. "Get up. Get up," he said more urgently. "A prince does not...," but he stopped there. He realized he was doing just as Bambi had accused him of. Caring more about him as a prince rather than his own son. Shock and sadness rushed through him as he realized that all his son had said about him was absolutely true. He had neglected to see what he was doing and ignored behaving like a father to dipped his head and shook it solemnly. The other fawn stared at him with wide eyes that were beginning to sparkle with unshed tears.

His legs bent down and he came down into a laying position by his son. Perhaps if he could not have shown his fatherly love while the fawn was still awake and alive and full of energy, he would at least show this final act of caring, paternal affection now. His head leaned down onto his frail young body. His ears picked up the sound of other approaching, but he would allow them to see his sorrow for the young prince's untimely, early death. His head rubbed Bambi's back gently in a comforting motion, as any parent would do to their child. A single tears slipped down his cheek.

The other five that were there, Ronno, Mena, Friend Owl, Thumper and Flower, dipped their heads in solemn silence as well. Ronno squeezed his eyes tightly as the tears began to flow down his face. One day, he had known the real Bambi for one day. He had made friends with him in one day and lost him in one day too. All the tears he held all over the years, all the emotions he swore never to show ever again, came forward.

The Great Prince sighed and rose his head again off the still fawn and started to turn away from the body, when he froze.

"Dad," came a small, frail voice from below him. The Great Prince's eyes widened and he stared back at his child who was weakly lifting his head up to look at him.

"I'm here," he replied as he leaned down to nuzzle him. "I'm here," he said quieter.

The others brightened up in relief of the young prince safe and sound. Thumper even collapsed into his friend Flower's arms and sobbed with joy. Mena and Friend Owl smiled warmly at each other. Ronno smiled and quickly sniffed and wiped away the tears staining his face while he pretended they never happened. He still had a reputation to keep up, even if he abandoned most of it earlier.

The clouds cleared as the storm passed away. The moon came out and shone its beautiful light upon the father and son below.

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 **Short, I know, but we still have one more left, and I have a real treat added in it planned for you readers. Thanks for reading, please leave a review and I** **'ll see you next time. Sincerely, v.t.7**


	4. And in the End

**Chapter 4. Yay, the final part. Now the treat I promised all you guys.**

 **Enjoy the story!**

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Birds chirped in the fresh summer air. Hummingbirds flitted from each flower in the treetops to dip their beaks into the sweet nectar. Down below, a small gathering of creatures had gathered around a rock where a rabbit was telling a story. A family of opossums, a chipmunk, a racoon, a family of quails, a skunk, a porcupine, several other rabbits, a young fawn and Friend Owl had all come to hear the tale of Thumper's part in the fight between Bambi and the dogs.

"It was raining and thundering. It didn't look good for the young prince. There were thousands of dogs, but Bambi wasn't a bit scared. They came closer...," his audience gasped, "and closer. There was nowhere to go. Then a dog that was tall as a tree roared from the shadows, but Bambi was too fast. He jumped up..."

"High in the air," one of Thumper's sisters said, interrupting him as she jumped into the air to add emphasis to her point. Thumper glared at her and continued.

"And then came crashing..."

"Crashing down. Right on the big dog's head," another one said and several hopped up too.

"Quiet. I'm telling it," he said while thumping his foot down several times on the stone to shut them up. "But the best part was..." He cringed and groaned when his sisters interrupted him again.

"The best part was when Thumper helped Flower make his bravest brave face," she said while squishing her paws against her face to describe the scene.

"And scared all the dogs away," they all said, but then quickly looked up and placed their paws on their mouths. "Oops."

"Uh-huh. That's how it went," he said proudly while he stuck his chest out at them.

"Hooray for Thumper," his sisters cheered while some of the other creatures clapped their approval.

"Look who's here," one of the sisters said.

"Oh, the young prince," another confirmed.

"Hooray," they all cheered before hopping towards him.

"You know, they're ok for sisters. Just too bad they're girls," Thumper said, though not realizing who he was saying it to.

"Hey," Faline said and glared at him. Thumper cringed and smiled sheepishly while nervously chuckling.

"Oops. What do you know, Bambi," he said while pointing at the young prince as he came up to him. Unfortunately for him, his head got stuck under a flowering, wild cherry branch.

"Ooh," he said as he shook to get free. He then backed away and ducked under it before continuing his way towards the group. Petals fluttered down around him and the sunlight revealed his form and everyone noticed the lack of the spots on his back and the two antler stubs he was sporting on his head.

"Well, looks like those antlers are finally coming in," Friend Owl commented from the stump he was on.

"Really? I hadn't noticed," Bambi casually replied as Thumper's sister bounced and giggled around him as he walked.

"Thumper's been telling us quite a story," Faline said as he came closer.

"Yes, yes. The one with the thousands of dogs," Friend Owl explained.

"Thousands," he asked toward Thumper. Said bunny rubbed his foot sheepishly on the platform.

"What can I say? I'm a born storyteller," he replied.

"I'll bet it seemed like a thousand dogs," Faline said as she walked closer, causing Bambi to back away a bit from her. However, the porcupine was behind him. He chuckled mischievously and pointed up his quills as the young prince got close.

All of a sudden, Bambi felt the prickling quills on his hindquarters and jumped forward with a yelp, right at Faline. Their faces met and their mouths touched each other. Thumper's sisters oohed at the kissing fawns. The two then separated. Bambi began stuttering while Faline just turned her head to the side and blushed.

"Huuh, twitterpated," Friend Owl sighed before he commented.

"What's twitterpated," Flower asked and looked up to him. Thumper's sister and a chipmunk also stared up at him and that was when Friend Owl realized what he had said.

"Well, uh, it's... I'll tell you when you're older," he quickly replied.

Then came a voice from behind them that surprised all of them. All eyes turned to beside the pond where two fawns were approaching. Thumper, Faline and Flower's eyes narrowed once they saw that it was Ronno and an unfamiliar girl fawn. She had a slightly darker coat than Ronno with white spots that clustered closely together by her neck and tail. Her eyes were a sparkling, deep blue.

"Hello Bambi," Ronno greeted, and everyone was taken aback by the new friendly tone in his voice. All eyes turned to Bambi, who ignored them and smiled at the two newcomers.

"Hey Ronno. How's it going," he asked.

"Pretty good. Thanks for asking," Ronno replied. Thumper then scurried over and jumped up in between them.

"Wa-wa-wait. Since when did you two become friends,"Thumper suspiciously asked.

"Since he said he was sorry for the way he behaved earlier and helped me get away from the dogs," Bambi explained.

"Yeah. Oh, by the way, there's someone I'd like you all to meet. This is Carmen, she's my new girlfriend," he explained. Said doe bowed her head lightly and smiled.

"Hello," she shyly said. Her voice was calm and sweet, like the bubbling creek behind her.

"Hi," everyone replied. Suddenly, Bambi perked up and spoke up again.

"Oh, I gotta get going. My dad's waiting for me. C'mon Ronno," Bambi said and Ronno nodded.

"Wait! Why is he going with you," Thumper asked.

"My dad said Ronno can learn from him, since his parents don't really teach him about anything really important. See ya guys," Bambi quickly replied before he and Ronno started prancing off together, leaving Carmen, Faline and the rest behind.

"Bye Bambi," they all called after them.

"Aww, Bambi. You never have time for us anymore," Thumper complained out loud once the two were safely out of ear hearing distance.

"Yeah. Isn't it wonderful," Faline asked and Carmen nodded. Thumper just stared confusedly and slightly disgusted at the two them.

* * *

As the two walked up the hill towards where the Great Prince had told them to meet him, Ronno was the first to speak.

"Hey, thanks for telling them back there. I appreciate it," he said. Bambi nodded.

"Of course. My dad says you can come live with us, since they don't treat you as well back home," he replied.

"Yeah, well, that really means a lot to me, so thank you both," Ronno said. Bambi nodded again and smiled before playfully nudging Ronno's shoulder with his own as they made it to the spot where the Great Prince was.

"You're welcome, Ronno," he replied.

* * *

 **And there's the sugar! I hope you enjoyed the final installment of this story. Thank you again Carmen738 for suggesting this idea in the first place and to SennaFan4ever and Teddi 8347 for checking out and reviewing my story.**

 **Thank you all for reading, please leave a review and tell me how you think I did. Sincerely., v.t.7**


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